For me it has been a combination of am I seeing the right therapist (do we have a connection?) and are they doing the right kind of therapy with me? I have now had very successful therapy with two Ts who have done psychodynamic therapy on me, both of whom I also have had a connection with (one I am still seeing now). The ex-T tried CBT on me first, noted I was nonresponsive (as I always and forever will be) and switched methods. We already were connecting, so it was a good move on his part, and he was my first psychodynamic T...then I learned what really worked for me.
Before him I had a T who tried CBT on me and when it failed did nothing but sat there and listened to me talk for the rest of the 5 years... I really didn't know enough about what therapy should BE like at that point, so I let this go on that long, which was ridiculous.
But before then I had only seen my childhood T and was so connected to her, I still don't even know what kind of therapy we did...sigh.