The leader who runs a group counseling program — overseeing clinicians who facilitate therapy groups, managing referrals and scheduling, and being accountable for clinical quality and outcomes. The role lives between behavioral health operations and clinical practice leadership.
Group Counseling Program Director pay typically runs $101K–$130K at this level, and jobs in this field are projected to grow 6% through 2034.
Most days tend to involve a mix of clinical supervision, program oversight, and administrative work — group case consultations, review of outcome and attendance data, and coordination with referral sources. You'll often spend part of the time on payer and compliance work — documentation standards, utilization review, and audits.
The hardest part is often balancing fidelity to evidence-based group models against the realities of the population you serve, which often doesn't fit neatly into manualized protocols. You'll typically support clinicians through the emotional weight of group work, recruit and retain a team in a difficult labor market, and defend clinical time against administrative demands.
People who tend to thrive here are clinically expert, operationally disciplined, and skilled at supporting clinicians. The trade-off is the regulatory complexity and the workforce challenges that the field continues to navigate. If you find satisfaction in building group-based care that meets clients where they are, this role can carry real meaning in a corner of behavioral health that often outperforms its reputation.
Still figuring out what you want to become
when you grow up?
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Don't know if you want to stay in your job?
Get your career on record. Then decide.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Social Services roles →The leader who runs a group counseling program — overseeing clinicians who facilitate therapy groups, managing referrals and scheduling, and being accountable for clinical quality and outcomes. The role lives between behavioral health operations and clinical practice leadership.
Median pay for a Group Counseling Program Director is about $78K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $50K to $130K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Monitoring, Active Learning, and Management of Personnel Resources.
Most people in this role hold a bachelor's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 6.4% through 2034, with roughly 195,490 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Program Manager, Senior Program Analyst, and Program Analyst.
Do one small thing to grow in your career this week. Pick one of these; each comes with the words to use.
More career advice
We believe careers grow through small steps taken often, more than big leaps. So we’ve collected hundreds of them for you to try.
Browse career adviceYour job belongs to your employer.
Your career belongs to you.