Group Psychology in a Time of Change
Francis J. Kaklauskas
Higher education is experiencing a period of profound upheaval (Levine & Van Pelt, 2026). Demographic shifts have resulted in fewer traditional college-age students, while public confidence in the value and necessity of higher education has declined, particularly outside of programs connected to science, technology, and other clearly defined career pathways (Parker, 2025). This demographic transformation is fundamentally reshaping the enrollment landscape for colleges and universities across the United States (Grawe, 2021).
At the same time, the employment outlook within the helping professions remains complex. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025) projects that psychology-related occupations will grow modestly over the next decade; however, non-psychologist counseling professions, particularly those focused on substance use treatment and behavioral health, are expected to grow at substantially faster rates. Contemporary students are increasingly choosing master’s degrees in counseling rather than doctoral degrees in psychology due to shorter training periods, lower costs, and the greater availability of online and hybrid programs (APA, 2024).
The growing influence of the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) has further reshaped the landscape. Professional identity has become increasingly important within counselor education, and many programs prioritize faculty members who hold counseling degrees and CACREP-accredited doctorates in Counselor Education and Supervision (Kaplan & Gladding, 2011). As a result, psychologists who teach group dynamics, group psychotherapy, and related subjects may find themselves less competitive for positions within counselor education programs despite extensive clinical and teaching experience.
Over the past year, I have personally witnessed colleagues, mentors, and mentees being laid off, furloughed, resigning, or taking early retirement. Across higher education, many group psychologists face increasing uncertainty. Access to research funding has become more difficult (APF, 2025) and for professors who teach group dynamics and group psychotherapy, stable academic positions continue to decline as universities rely more heavily on adjunct faculty rather than tenure-track appointments (Colby, 2023).
Program closures and reductions have been especially significant within innovative and nontraditional programs, including art therapy, nature-based therapies, and other integrative approaches that have historically provided rich opportunities for group work and community-based learning (APA, 2025). These changes have often been accompanied by reductions in shared governance, contributing to an atmosphere of uncertainty, anxiety, and distrust (Levine & Van Pelt, 2026)
Research on organizational downsizing suggests that those who remain often experience guilt, grief, fear, uncertainty, and moral conflict (Noer, 2009). Remaining faculty struggle with ambiguous loss that something meaningful has disappeared without fully disappearing (Boss, 1999). The institution remains, but many of the relationships, values, and practices may feel altered or diminished. While changes may be necessary, higher education administrators may not anticipate the significant decline in morale, increased cynicism, and emotional turmoil, as well as decreases in student and applicant confidence and institutional reputation (McClure, 2025).
Faculty members also leave of their own accord. Some feel betrayed because their values and aspirations no longer align with their academic roles, and others have sought new forums for these skills, such as assessment, private practice, consulting, organizational development, or leadership coaching, in search of greater financial stability (Andoh, 2026). Faculty may not have lost their teaching and mentoring passions, but with grief shifted out of practical necessity. At the same time, burnout has become an increasingly common experience in higher education as workloads and responsibilities continue while resources remain limited (Maslach & Leiter (2022).
Competing Loyalties
In the educational settings where I teach and remain, many of these forces have converged. I find myself facing competing loyalties. For those whose employment has ended or been dramatically altered, they navigate their uncertain future along with feelings of betrayal, anger, and disbelief. For those of us who remain, there is often moral injury and survivor’s guilt. I have deep concern for friends and colleagues whose careers have been disrupted and wish to find some magical way to bring them back. Part of me wants to preserve traditions within my programs and universities that were characterized by close mentorship, meaningful relationships, and high levels of intimacy between faculty and students. Yet declining enrollments, changing student preferences, and broader cultural shifts have made it increasingly clear that the past cannot be the future.
I invited several colleagues who had been furloughed or retired early to contribute to this essay, but they declined. One responded, “Not yet. I am still hoping this story has a happy ending that I can share.” Another colleague attempted to ease my guilt by quoting the Dalai Lama’s reflection on the Chinese invasion of Tibet: “Sometimes there are firestorms. How can you be angry at a firestorm? It is not your fault.”
Personally, I have moved through many familiar therapeutic processes; many times through each stage of grief, seeking existential meaning, cathartic discharge, working toward acceptance, critiquing cultural systems, and examining my own naïveté, denial, and unrealistic desires.
As group people in higher education, many of us will face complex and difficult circumstances, ethical dilemmas, and challenging decisions. My colleagues on all sides of this evolving situation have modeled useful practices: flexibility, pragmatism, allowance of all feelings, questioning inherited narratives, finding hope, and appreciating both what has been and what remains (Noer, 2009). To all group psychologists navigating these turbulent times, I wish you well. May we use our knowledge and skills to find the support of community, the resilience to adapt, and the creativity to imagine new possibilities.
References
American Psychological Association. (2024). APA health service psychology workforce optimization: A strategic response to national need. https://www.apa.org/education-career/grad/national-standards-masters.
American Psychological Association. (2025, July/August). Psychology faces unprecedented challenges amid federal changes. Monitor on Psychology. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2025/07-08/psychology-under-siege.
American Psychological Foundation. (2025, April 23). APF statement on the erosion of psychological research funding in the U.S. https://ampsychfdn.org/psychfunding/.
Andoh, E. (2026, January 1). Strategies to help psychologists navigate layoffs at mid- and late-career: Many psychologists affected by current federal policies and practices face the prospect of finding new employment. Monitor on Psychology, 57(1), 93.
Boss, P. (1999). Ambiguous loss: Learning to live with unresolved grief. Harvard University Press.
Colby, G. (2023). Data snapshot: Tenure and contingency in U.S. higher education. Academe. American Association of University Professors. https://www.aaup.org/academe/issues/spring-2023/data-snapshot-tenure-and-contingency-us-higher-education.
Custer, S. (2025, June 23). How budget cuts and a loss of trust threaten higher ed’s workforce. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty/career-development/2025/06/23/budget-cuts-loss-trust-threaten-higher-eds-workforce.
Grawe, N. D. (2021). The agile college: How institutions successfully navigate demographic changes. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Levine, A., & Van Pelt, S. (2026). From upheaval to action. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2022). The burnout challenge. Harvard Business Review Press.
McClure, K. R. (2025, October 15). Layoffs are happening. Here’s how to do them thoughtfully: Few things define leaders and the culture they are trying to shape more than how they let someone go. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/layoffs-are-happening-heres-how-to-do-them-thoughtfully/
Noer, D. M. (2009). Healing the wounds: Overcoming the trauma of layoffs and revitalizing downsized organizations(2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Parker, K. (2025, October 15). Growing share of Americans say the U.S. higher education system is headed in the wrong direction. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Occupational outlook handbook. U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
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