How do you find an effective therapist?

I have a long history of severe and treatment resistent anxiety and also a long history of ineffective counselors. Somehow I always manage to find people who are easy to describe as eclectic and who often give me terrible or useless advice. For example, my current therapist’s method of treating my anxiety is to tell me that I’ll grow out of it (I’m 33, with anxiety since childhood.) I always hear that therapy is challenging and sometimes it’s hard to go through with treatment, but I have yet to experience that in the 20 years I’ve been in and out of therapy. To me, it’s more like having regular hour long chit chat sessions than anything challenging or helpful in any way.

Aside from the ability to prescribe medication, should I be looking for specific credentials in a provider that will give me clues as to what I can expect from treatment? What are the differences between social workers, counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists?
I have had a very difficult time finding therapists in my area and I can not bear to have another person tell me to try a fish oil supplement or to pretend I’m a tree.