Anthony - Founder of HeartTouch Wellbeing CIC
About Anthony
Anthony Fidler is the founder of HeartTouch Wellbeing CIC and its Lead Therapist and Group Facilitator.
His work brings together nearly thirty years of experience in embodied mindfulness, Tai Chi, Qi Gong and Zen practice, alongside many years of therapeutic touch.
At the heart of his work is a simple intention: to help people feel safer, more grounded and more connected with themselves and others, creating the conditions in which their own capacity for healing and growth can emerge.
Lived experience of overwhelming inner states
Anthony's understanding of overwhelming inner experiences and spiritual crisis has grown through both his therapeutic work with others and his own lived experience. From his early twenties, he lived through periods of severe anxiety, burnout and overwhelming physical and emotional distress while searching for a way to feel well again.
Shortly after leaving hospital in China on his thirtieth birthday.
Shortly before his thirtieth birthday, this journey took a different turn, with experiences that were understood clinically as psychosis. After a brief period of hospitalisation and eight months taking antipsychotic medication, Anthony began a process of recovery and integration that unfolded over many years.
Gradually, embodied practices, supportive relationships and a simpler way of living helped Anthony rebuild a stable and fulfilling life. As his wellbeing returned, he gradually re-engaged with meaningful work through teaching, therapeutic practice and creative projects, laying the foundations for the work he now shares through HeartTouch.
He does not assume that everyone's experience is the same as his own. Instead, his lived experience helps him meet people without judgement and remain present alongside them as they move through experiences that others may find difficult to understand.
Embodied practice and therapeutic work
Anthony with Grandmaster Chen Zhao Sen in 2009
Anthony began practising Tai Chi, Qi Gong and Vipassana meditation in 1997, later incorporating Zen into his life. Over the years, these disciplines became a long-term exploration of how attention, movement, breathing and embodied awareness can support stability, resilience and a more compassionate relationship with ourselves.
Since 2004, he has also studied Sei-Ki and Seitai, Japanese approaches to therapeutic touch that emphasise the body's innate capacity for balance and regulation. Alongside these, he has trained in aromatherapy, Thai Massage and Chi Nei Tsang, further deepening his understanding of the interconnected nature of physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing.
Rather than following a single therapeutic model, Anthony has gradually integrated these different strands into the way he works. His work brings together mindful presence, compassionate touch where appropriate, movement and therapeutic dialogue, always responding to the individual rather than applying a fixed technique.
Teaching and facilitation
Anthony teaching Katsugen in Switzerland
Anthony has taught Tai Chi, Qi Gong and mindfulness in a wide range of community, therapeutic and educational settings in the UK and internationally. His work includes individual sessions, small groups, workshops and professional training.
He currently facilitates Weathering Storms, an online HeartTouch group for people experiencing spiritual crisis, states that may be understood as psychosis, or other overwhelming inner experiences.
Alongside this, he teaches Tai Chi for Wellbeing, facilitates embodied mindfulness groups in community settings and is developing the Community Ki Café as an inclusive space for movement, connection and mutual support.