About Us

You’re In Good Hands With Anger Management Expert Lynnette Anderson

Our History

Lynnette Anderson is a driven woman with an unbridled passion for helping others. A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she graduated the top schools. Lynnette obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Science degree from Chestnut Hill College and numerous certifications, making her a subject matter expert in the field. While living in Tennessee, Lynnette received training from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, and was owner/operator of Anita Charles Foundation.

Our target populations are men or women between ages 18 – 34 who have been identified as violent or aggressive. Our mission is to improve the lives of children and families, in the communities of Philadelphia, utilizing the principles of anger management to encourage strong, pleasurable, and beneficial interpersonal relationships. Our vision is to foster the development of a violence-free community, safe neighborhoods, and families by improving anger management in the individual to ensure the possibility of maximum participation of every member of the community in positive ways. THINK Instead is a community organization specializing in violence reduction programming. Our programs are direct, trauma-informed, healing, and restorative practice programs structured using evidence-based curriculum.

Lynnette is best described as an emancipator. Not only has she overcome sexual abuse, domestic violence and addiction, she has turned those life lessons into manageable moments of coping, destined to help others overcome their hardships and find freedom through emotional healing and mental health. This has led to a rich career in the helping field, focusing on our most vulnerable population, the youth.

I’ve seen my fair share of rainy days at the beginning of my career. I had to go through a steep learning curve to know all the nooks and corners of the current industry.

Family is extremely important to Lynnette. She is the eldest grandchild and her parents only daughter, she has 2 brothers. Her father was her idol growing up while her mother provided the backbone she needed to become strong. She took that wealth of love and knowledge into her marriage with her college sweetheart and became the proud mother of two children, who made her an even prouder grandmother.

When not busy developing today’s youth, Lynnette enjoys cooking and interior decorating. Hosting parties and event planning are among her favorite hobbies. Ask any of her friends and they will tell you only Lynnette can make one room look like an entire apartment.

Lynnette C. Anderson is CEO and Executive Director of Think Instead. She is a certified trainer of the Thinking for A Change curriculum, a Certified Anger Management Specialist, Certified Restorative Cities Initiative Facilitator, Certified Strong-R Assessor, Certified Intimate Partner Abuse Facilitator and Licensed Behavior Specialist via Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine. She’s attained post-graduate Certification in Cognitive Behavior Therapy from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, a BA in Criminology, from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and MS in Human Services Administration from Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Anderson is the author of the book "Don't Cry and Don't Beg: A Step-by-Step Guide to Dealing with Anger.” This self-help book comes from 20 years of experience helping people overcome self-defeating behaviors like substance abuse and domestic violence. As a commissioned Probation Officer for the State of Tennessee Department of Corrections, Anderson was certified, and the lead facilitator of the Strong-R assessment tool used to assess returning citizen’s needs and predict recidivism.

On a personal note, growing up during the unrest of the ‘Civil Rights Movement’, Lynnette used anger and violence to survive racial injustice, oppression of poverty and the struggle of simply being Black in America. Fortunately, being educated in Philadelphia’s top schools provided her with opportunities that many people of color did not enjoy. Yet, despite her educational achievements, Lynnette was not protected from the racial disparities that many Black and Brown people have been subjugated to for decades. Overcoming gang violence, drug addictions, and poverty, along with her beloved father committing suicide, Lynnette operates from the premise: every person regardless of circumstances, can do better, live productively, with purpose and able to manage life; then teach generations of others to do the same. Life experiences led Lynnette to her life’s purpose, as an ‘Emancipator’ destined to teach others how to free themselves from self-inflicted wounds stemming from generational trauma.

ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY
Lynnette C. Anderson, LLC is a limited liability corporation since June 2009. In 2013 Lynnette C. Anderson, LLC relocated to Nashville Tennessee and began doing business as the Anita Charles Foundation (Alleviate Natural Impulses and Tame Anger [then] Choose Healthy Alternative Responses and Leverage Emotional Support). The organization returned to Philadelphia Pennsylvania in December 2018 and Lynnette C. Anderson, LLC; began doing business as THINK Instead in February 2019. Therapeutic Holistic Innovative Naturopathic Knowledge for Anger Management, or THINK Instead, is a community-oriented, personal emancipation organization for young people located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania serving residents in Philadelphia County. THINK Instead headquarters is in the heart of the 19th Police District at 1445 City Line Avenue Suite 8, Wynnewood, PA 19096. Most recently, THINK Instead has joined the Restorative Cities Initiative.TM The Restorative Cities Initiative is a Movement. A process which restores hope, justice, collaboration, empathy, and resourcing to Philadelphia neighborhoods. THINK Instead is the headquarters for the Restorative Cities Initiative Overbrook Park Hub and Lynnette C. Anderson is a certified RCI Facilitator. Through cross-sector training we have learned restorative practices and how to implement them toward neighborhood concerns, restorative justice, and public safety. Teaching topics cover Restorative Practices, Trauma and Resilience, Public Policy toward community healing and restorative justice, to name a few. Lynnette is also the current Chair of the PA State Board of Probation and Parole Citizens Advisory Committee until 2023. THINK Instead was awarded a Targeted Community Investment Grant (TCIG) through the Office of Violence Prevention to implement “Thinking for A Change” in a 12-week cohort. We discovered a huge population of returning citizens who have maxed-out prison sentences, are not supervised by probation and parole, and are in desperate need of the cognitive restructuring and problem-solving skills available through our program. Lynnette C. Anderson, LLC dba THINK Instead is also a vendor for the City of Philadelphia contracted with the Department of Corrections as an Outpatient Provider for Cognitive Behavior Intervention and Batterers’ Intervention. Think Instead is also a Pennsylvania Commission on Crime/Delinquency (PCCD) grantee funded to implement an evidence-based gun violence prevention-education program for middle school students.

End Domestic Violence Unlearn Abusive Behavior Inc., (EndDvUAB) is the non-profit arm of Think Instead. We offer an Intimate Partner Abuse program we call Achievable Success using The Emerge program manual which outlines the entire Emerge model including specific educational presentations, individual activities, and guidance on running exercises. It also gives some supplemental information on writing reports to referral sources, and conducting partner contacts, their philosophy of providing abuser education. The Emerge model is composed of a 40-session curriculum but can be adapted to additional or fewer sessions and can be used in addition to other abuser education models. During our abuser education groups, we examine the harmful behavior that abusers have chosen throughout their relationships to improve their relationships with others. Programs such as ours are called Batterers Intervention. The term “batterer” often has very negative connotations and is typically defined as someone who repeatedly physically abuses their partner. We choose to use the terminology Intimate Partner Abuse. Many women who have come to our program report that they have not been physically abusive, but have been quite emotionally, verbally, or psychologically abusive. Even though these forms of abuse are not physical in nature, we challenge participants to recognize that they are still harmful and in fact can destroy relationships. Hence, we have abuser education groups specifically for women, including heterosexual, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender. Women are asked to recognize how they have chosen such behavior as a pattern in their relationships and families and how those choices have harmed others. Groups will take place during morning and evening hours, will include orientation and a Danger Assessment completed. There will be separate groups for women who are perpetrators and women who are victims when necessary because oftentimes the behaviors overlap.

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About Us

Our History

I’ve seen my fair share of rainy days at the beginning of my career. I had to go through a steep learning curve to know all the nooks and corners of the current industry.

When not busy developing today’s youth, Lynnette enjoys cooking and interior decorating. Hosting parties and event planning are among her favorite hobbies. Ask any of her friends and they will tell you only Lynnette can make one room look like an entire apartment.

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