Less than a year after relocating to Newton with plans for expansion, the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology laid off seven employees this month.

A school official confirmed the layoffs, saying in an email that the move was in response to "several redundancies in the organization."

The state’s only freestanding psychology school opened at a 51,000-square-foot facility at 1 Wells Ave. in Oak Hill last September. The school has been in existence for more than four decades and relocated from a West Roxbury facility it had leased for 17 years.

"While any reduction in force is distressing for the individuals involved, this move was necessary and has positioned the school for greater efficiency and fiscal responsibility," Patti Jacobs, a school spokeswoman, said in a statement.

At the time of the opening of the Newton facility, school officials told the TAB they were leasing the facility but planned to purchase it in the next several years. They also expressed hope that the new building would help expand their enrollment.

Jacobs declined to comment further on the layoffs or provide an update on the school’s status since moving to Newton.

The school offers graduate programs and trains students to work in schools as school psychologists, in community health clinics as clinical psychologists, in prison facilities as forensic psychologists and in a variety of other fields.