The Phoenix Team

Sally Jenkins
Program Director

Sally Jenkins, a native of North Carolina, graduated from Western Carolina with a Masters in Human Resources Development with a concentration in counseling.  Soon after obtaining her masters she became licensed in the State of North Carolina as a Clinical Addiction Specialist. Having been through her own personal struggle in sobriety as a teenager, it only seemed natural for Sally to dedicate her time and education to helping other teens realize their potential in sobriety.  Sally has worked in just about every setting there is in the substance abuse field: from working in a detox facility right after undergraduate school to being a field therapist for SUWS of the Carolinas.  After working with SUWS of the Carolinas, Sally became enamored with the concept of combining wilderness, therapy, and substance abuse treatment.

Sally’s love for the wilderness, education in Human Resource Development, and substance abuse expertise lend themselves perfectly to her most recent opportunity as the Program Director of Phoenix Outdoor.  She is thankful to have become a part of such a wonderful team of hard-working dedicated people.
Sally is blessed to have a wonderfully kind and patient husband, Mark, a curious and always enlightening 3 year old, Penn, and Taylor and Alex, two of the kindest step-sons a Mom could ask for.  Her family continues to be an unwavering source of joy and support through out everything.  When not at work, she can be found enjoying these gifts that they continue to offer. 

Eric Belsterling
Adolescent Therapist

Eric has been working with “at risk” youth for the past 13 years in a number of residential and wilderness settings. Before being introduced to wilderness therapy he had worked at a number of level five (most restrictive) adolescent residential programs in Arizona and Oregon. Eric was introduced to wilderness therapy as a guide in 2000 at SUWS of Idaho where he experienced first hand the power of wilderness therapy.  He states that he witnessed greater change happen in three weeks in a wilderness setting than it would take three months in a residential setting. After experiencing the power of wilderness therapy Eric decided it was his career path.

Eric received his Masters degree from Naropa University in 2006, specializing in wilderness therapy (the only Masters program currently with this specific major). He has worked at the following programs as a guide: SUWS of Idaho, Passages To Recovery, Four Circles Recovery Center. Eric interned at Aspen Achievement Academy dividing his time working as a therapist and creating and co-facilitating their substance abuse/dependency group during their “Reunion” (family) program. He also interned as a therapist at Arapahoe House, an inpatient drug and alcohol abuse/dependency treatment center in Thornton CO. While at Arapahoe House, he co-facilitated substance abuse/dependency groups for the clients and psycho-education groups for the families of the adolescents. 

Since earning his Masters Degree, Eric has worked as a therapist at SUWS of the Carolinas and Phoenix Outdoor. He has both personal and professional experience working with substance abuse/dependency issues. Eric has a passion for combining proven substance abuse/dependency recovery modalities and various wilderness therapy modalities. He is currently working toward his licensures as a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist in the state of North Carolina.

“I want congratulate you on making one of the hardest decisions you could ever make in sending your son or daughter to treatment. It has been my experience that adolescents learn best by being shown an example, thus I strongly believe I must be an example of what I teach; I must walk my talk.”

Mary Flora, MA, LPC, NCC
Adolescent Therapist

Mary has been working in adventure based therapy since 1999.  She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of North Carolina and holds a National Counselor Certification.  She has completed the internship portion of the Addictions Specialist certification in pursuit of her LCAS licensure and broadening her knowledge of substance use, abuse and dependency.

Mary’s therapeutic focus has been serving adolescent girls. According to Mary, “working with girls is a privilege and requires special care to guide them through the conflicting and often self defeating messages they receive in today’s culture. Girls can be more adept at hiding their issues and needs through cultural conditioning. Placing girls in a wilderness environment affords them the opportunity to strip away cultural stereotypes that have thwarted their attempts at forming a positive self image.  To succeed with girls, a therapist must form a trusting relationship and make an investment in nurturing the self discovery that creates a shift in awareness leading toward personal growth.” “One key to the wilderness experience is experiential activities and education. Nature is the perfect backdrop for self discovery to take shape providing a challenging environment for the shift in consciousness that is often sought in adolescence.”  Mary spent seven years as an instructor in the Therapeutic horseback riding industry.  “Transitioning to the Therapeutic Wilderness industry in 2006 has been a rewarding and natural progression in adventure based therapies.”

Mary’s therapeutic work is grounded in Depth Psychology.  Mary also finds Narrative and Relational Theory instrumental in reaching adolescents. Employing metaphor, symbol, archetypes, and dream images within a Relational and Narrative therapeutic frame allows for creative self expression and exploration.  She began Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) training in 2007.  DBT helps the adolescent find the coping skills to identify and express emotion in an empowering rather than self defeating way.  DBT adopted an adolescent focus in 2007 and is being used to serve populations struggling with addiction to better regulate the emotions behind the cravings and assist with impulse control.