Our Staff
Deacon Doctor W. Rick Varieur
Deacon Doctor W. Rick Varieur co-founded the Family Counselling Center and has been in clinical practice for 45 years. He attended the University of Notre Dame and Indiana University. He has a master’s degree in Greek Political Philosophy, a master’s degree and PhD in Clinical Psychology.
Dr. Varieur contributed to the clinical textbook, Ethnicity and Family Therapy. He specializes in marital therapy, individual therapy and the convergence of spirituality and psychological well-being. He was ordained Deacon in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River. He was also the on-air personality of the radio program A Catholic Life.
Rick’s interests include motorcycle riding, he has ridden over 100,000 miles including in Iceland, Labrador, Mongolia and Alaska. He also enjoys mountain climbing and has climbed Mt Denali in Alaska, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa and Mt Everest in Nepal.
At TEDx Longwood, Rick presented a talk on Happiness that can be viewed below. “Happiness is difficult | Rick Varieur | TEDxLongwood”
Karen Varieur
Karen Varieur was co-founder of the Family Counselling Center over 40 years ago. She has counseled adolescents, individuals, couples and families. Ms. Varieur has a bachelor’s degree in education and a Master’s in psychology. She has taught classes to students from kindergarten through college and has extensive experience in higher education administration.
In addition, she was on the Rhode Island Bishop’s selection and training committee for Deacons. She has lectured extensively on various women’s topics including stress management, leadership, and the complementarity of men and women.
She has been married for over 40 years and has three married children and seven grandchildren. Karen has traveled extensively and has knowledge of various cultures and their values. She has taken pilgrimages to the Holy Land and various shrines throughout the world. The Varieur family has supported orphanages in Nepal and Mongolia and in Africa in the countries of Swaziland and Tanzania.
John Varieur
John Varieur is the Director of the Family Counselling Center. He is a proud father of 4 children and has been married for over a decade. He has worked extensively in family and clinical practice counseling individuals, children, adolescents, couples and families. He has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville and Master’s in Science in Clinical Psychology from Divine Mercy University along with participating in the CAGS program in Northeastern University.
John specializes in Cognitive Positive Psychotherapy. He has performed psychological evaluations for the Diocese of Fall River and other religious orders. Mr. Varieur has worked with various companies evaluating leadership, individual employees’ effectiveness, and team cohesion. He is a former high school teacher and bartender.
John has visited over 18 countries including Austria, Belgium, Botswana, England, France, Germany, Holland, Hungry, Italy, Mexico, South Africa, Scotland, Spain, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
John presented at TEDx Longwood, you can find the link for his talk below.