Yes of course it is not really possible to determine a good fit without having direct interactions, but I usually feel that I can quite confidently and reliably rule out the misfits if I pay attention to how they communicate in general, even if not with me. And I tend to have a good sense of who might be compatible with me if I see a bit of how they express themselves and communicate in general. Sometimes more interaction reveals it as a misfit and that I was primarily projecting but can be useful to see as a start.

I have found in a fairly unconventional way the person who, while not a paid T for me, was by far the best fit and most helpful for me regarding mental health and self-improvement. I found him in an online peer support community like this. He used to be a T before retiring and was just participating in the forum like anyone else but quite a few of us were drawn to him as a great source of useful views, advice and example of a person with hight integrity. I interacted with him on the public forum in a group and we also developed a one-one-one relationship that ended up being a lot like T and client, at least how I imagine a really constructive and useful T-client collaboration. It is my past experience with him how I know I may not be really therapy-resistant per se, more just very picky and not easy to find a truly useful match for me. My experience with him was also what inspired me to seek professional therapy as he unfortunately died after a short battle with cancer. We never met in person and yet it was by far the best influence on me after my father and a couple mentors in my youth. We had a lot in common. Stupidly (or let's just say experimentally), when I chose my first T, I did not keep that lesson in mind much and decided to go with someone radically different from me in every way - let's choose someone on a very different basis from what I usually do, see what happens. It definitely failed and caused me a lot of frustration. Second T I chose, again, much more with my usual perceptions and preferences and it was much better.

The other very successful professional service I've found was relatively recently with a lawyer. He was originally a referral from another professional that I actually had a very bad experience with, part of a list I was given. I checked them out online and contacted a a few from the list that seemed decent, then chose this one based on my personal impression on how he responded to me. When I went to see him first in his office, it felt like an immediate good connection and I really liked how he considered and explained things. Ended up being a super efficient, successful and also interpersonally very pleasant and satisfying collaboration (I think mutually). Again, I felt we had a lot in common, including in professional values for quality, communication style, expertise and effectiveness. I would choose a T with his qualities on a heartbeat but have never seen one except that online guy in the past. So these were lucky encounters for me in a way, not so easy to just find via systematic searches.

I don't know if we are allowed to post links to specific Ts but this is one I find potentially reasonable for me from that website:
Emily Chaya Weinstein | Life Coach | NYC
She has somewhat similar vibe to my last T but less boastful and different sex. In the past I had a very strong preference for males but it does not matter to me much now. I like the focus of the above T and the practical approach. I don't think I need someone else to promote autonomy for me but the fact she emphasizes that makes me feel we at least might think similarly about it (vs those Ts who promote the relationship and try to come across as saviors or empathy masters). Not sure what I think about her therapy approaches per se but she does not seem to promote a textbook approach much so it is not a turnoff. She also does not appear detached or slow to me like many of the others but relatively modest. Plus her interests seem to overlap with what I would seek help with pretty well. I guess this is all I can discern from this type of information.