• Meet Our Practitioners

    Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture | The Alternative Clinic

Experienced Practitioners

In China, old doctors are revered because it is only through a lifetime of practice that one gains wisdom and experience.

Today in the west, many practitioners of Chinese medicine begin to treat patients right out of school, without the benefit of residency under skilled and experienced clinicians. Our clinic aims to change that trend.

Andrew and JulieAnn Nugent-Head have spent a combined 36 years in China studying directly under the last old doctors of Beijing.  Through this teacher – disciple training,  doctoral studies in the Chinese University system and residency in the hospitals of Beijing and Hangzhou, JulieAnn and Andrew have seen more patients, treatments and Chinese herbal prescriptions than most practitioners in the west will see in their lifetime. This unparalleled experience combined with fluency in written and spoken Chinese gives Andrew and JulieAnn the confidence to treat difficult disease and the tools to seek advice from the classic Chinese books directly.

Andrew Nugent-Head Alternative Clinic

Andrew Nugent-Head

Andrew Nugent-Head arrived in Taiwan in 1986 to study Chinese Medicine, martial arts and internal cultivation. He formally began studying Chinese medicine in 1989, founding the Association for Traditional Studies (ATS) to preserve China’s traditional knowledge. Andrew is a renowned Chinese medical practitioner, educator and martial artist, currently completing his medical doctorate in Zhejiang China.  Andrew teaches internationally and treats patients in Asheville, NC.

Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture | The Alternative Clinic

JulieAnn Nugent-Head MD (China)

JulieAnn completed her masters degree in Oriental medicine in the United States, and summer internships at Beijing’s Kuanjie Hospital in 2003 & 2004. Interning under skilled clinicians was a drastic contrast to her training in the west, thus JulieAnn moved to China full time in 2006 to learn Chinese and study under two of Beijing’s most famous traditional practitioners Dr Li Hongxiang (1924-2018) and Dr Chen Tongyun (1922 -).

While continuing to document these scholars, JulieAnn and husband Andrew escaped Beijing’s pollution and moved to the rural tea mountains of Hangzhou, living amongst the farmers of the Dragon Well tea village.  While living in Hangzhou, JulieAnn completed her doctorate level medical degree in the Chinese program at Zhejiang Chinese Medicine University.

JulieAnn and Andrew returned to the US in 2014, and are thrilled to call Asheville, NC their forever home.  They have a tea and herb farm, treat patients at the Alternative Clinic, and teach internationally.

Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture | The Alternative Clinic

David Trevino LAc

David is a native Spanish speaker, born and raised in Mexico City. With 16 years of clinical practice and 9 years teaching students, David’s extensive experience also includes working with Houston’s Brain Injury Rehab Center, Harvard’s Mind Body Medical Institute’s Cardiac Rehab program, and Anderson’s Cancer Center’s Integrative Medicine program.

After implementing the tangible treatment strategies learned from Andrew Nugent-Head over the last six years, David experienced a number of his patients showing dramatic improvements. He is delighted to be working at the Alternative Clinic providing authentic and tangible Chinese medicine alongside Andrew and JulieAnn

Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture | The Alternative Clinic

Liz Cross LAc, MBT 10694

Liz’s focus on therapeutic bodywork began more than 15 years ago with a year long residential program. Practicing bodywork-therapy ever since, Liz’s experience working with athletes in Colorado, and guiding other therapists as a bodywork teacher created a high level of skill and confidence in her treatments.

Since moving to Asheville in 2011, Liz completed her master’s degree in Chinese medicine and is thrilled to join the practitioner team at the Alternative Clinic, offering therapeutic massage as well as Chinese medicine treatments. Liz also is part of the holistic medicine staff at a local mental health center.

Daniel Gonzalez, LAc

Daniel’s interest in the Chinese arts began at an early age, accompanying his father on treks through the streets of New York City to Chinatown. Amazing lunches, trips to martial arts schools, and double feature Kung Fu movies! Little did he know it would be the memories of Chinatown’s Chinese Medicine pharmacies that would lead him to study medicine.

Daniel graduated from the Atlantic School of Oriental Medicine in 2004 and began practicing at Comprehensive Addiction Rehabilitation & Education in West Palm Beach, Florida. As the Acupuncture Physician, Daniel provided treatments for patients suffering from drug and alcohol related afflictions.

Relocating to the mountains of western North Carolina, Daniel served as the Chairperson for the Ethics Committee, and participating member of the Acupuncture Association.

Although witnessing countless successes in private practice, Daniel felt that Chinese medicine had more to offer. Upon attending a seminar in 2014 presented by Andrew & JulieAnn Nugent-Head, he realized the path to the breath and scope of this medicine was finally accessible. Daniel thus completed all of the Association for Traditional Studies training programs, and is thrilled to be able to practice Chinese medicine  at the Alternative Clinic.

Lewis Smith LMBT

A North Carolina native, Lewis grew up with an affinity for numbers and recognizing patterns. He graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a degree in statistics, and headed to Seattle to work in the actuarial field, a crossroads of the mathematical and legal worlds.

After his mother received a cancer diagnosis, he returned to North Carolina. Having stepped out of his professional life to become a full time caregiver, Lewis naturally began to recognize the toll of his overly sedentary job. As Lewis researched the varied treatment options available for his mother, he naturally became aware of his own health, and learned about promoting wellness with lifestyle habits, yoga, bodywork and nutrition.

After Chinese Tui Na and Rolfing treatments, Lewis found he was becoming healthier and more self-aware. He felt the immense power of knowledgeable bodywork applied, and desired to help others achieve similar benefits. Lewis’ background gives him a unique ability to analyze and troubleshoot issues in the human body, and his studies have developed a deep appreciation for the elegance and humanity within massage.

Lewis attended the Center for Massage and Natural Health here in Asheville, earning his LMBT as the first step in exploring the healing potential possible through therapeutic touch. He is excited to be working at the Alternative Clinic, learning and practicing Chinese medical bodywork and studying a more holistic approach to health and medicine.

Please call us at 828-424-7415 if you have questions