You Weren't "Resistant to Therapy." You Were Resistant to Bad Therapy.

By Liz Wooten, LPC

About the Author: Liz Wooten, LPC, is the founder of Enlitens and a rebellious academic dedicated to dismantling the broken mental health system. As an AuDHD therapist with years of front-line crisis experience, she brings a deep, lived understanding to her work. Read Liz’s Full Story Here

Let’s be clear: If you’ve been to therapy and it “didn’t work,” the problem isn’t you. It’s that you were sold a treatment designed for a single-issue, neurotypical brain, and you were pathologized for your body’s sane, logical rejection of a flawed product.

You’ve done the work. You’ve sat in rooms with well-meaning therapists. Maybe they understood your trauma but had no language for your AuDHD. Maybe they were LGBTQIA+ affirming but used ableist, “try harder” language for your executive dysfunction. You left each time feeling more broken, more complex, and with a new label for your failure: “treatment-resistant.”

“Treatment-resistant” is not a diagnosis. It is an insult. It is the system’s gaslighting term for “our one-size-fits-all model failed to account for your intersectional reality, so it must be your fault.” It is a profound act of clinical violence, and you have every right to be furious about it.

The Neurobiological Truth Bomb

You were not “resistant to therapy.” Your nervous system correctly identified an invalidating and neurologically unsafe environment and rejected it. That is not a pathology; it is a sign of a brilliant, self-protective system.

Traditional therapy often fails people like us because it makes two fundamental, arrogant assumptions:

1. It Assumes a “Top-Down” Approach Works: It believes the “thinking” brain (your prefrontal cortex) can simply logic the “feeling” brain (your limbic system) into submission. For a nervous system shaped by C-PTSD, this is a biological impossibility. It’s like trying to use a software patch to fix a hardware problem.

2. It Ignores Intersectionality: It treats you like a checklist. It tries to “fix” the trauma while ignoring the sensory hell of your autism. It tries to “manage” the ADHD while ignoring the social context of your queer identity. It is incapable of seeing you as a whole, integrated human being.

The goal isn’t to “try therapy again.” The goal is to try a different kind of therapy—one that is built from the ground up for complex, intersectional, neurodivergent people. It starts with finding a clinician who sees you as an expert, not a problem. Our entire practice is built on the core belief that You Are the Expert on Your Life. We Are the Specialists with the Map.

When you’re ready to work with a guide who gets all of you, you can Start here.

Go Deeper Down the Rabbit Hole

When You've Been Burned Before

A guide for the therapy skeptic on how our process is designed to prevent the bait-and-switch and build real trust from the start.

A Guide to the "Vibe Check"

The process of finding the right fit should be risk-free. Learn about our no-pressure consultation where you are in charge of the interview.

You Don't Owe Us Your Trauma

A manifesto on your absolute right to share your story on your own terms and timeline, never on a therapist’s demand.

*The information here is meant to guide and inform, not replace the care of a qualified healthcare professional. If you have questions or concerns about a medical or mental-health condition, please reach out to a trusted provider. The examples shared are based on general personas—no personal health details are used. At Enlitens, your privacy is a top priority, and we fully comply with HIPAA regulations to keep your information safe and confidential.

This is a Conversation,
Not a Debate.

This is not a space for debate or unsolicited advice. It is a space for sharing stories. We read every submission, and we will periodically feature the most resonant and validating stories here with the author’s explicit permission. Submit your’s below!

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Take one second. That’s all I’m asking.

Do not try to “calm down.” Do not try to “fix it.” Do not listen to the voice screaming that you need to do something right now.

Just be here, with me, for one single breath.

My name is Liz. I’ve spent years working overnight in the ER, sitting with people on what was often the worst night of their entire lives. I have sat in the eye of the hurricane, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that the chaos you feel right now is not the truth.

It is a storm in your nervous system. And a storm is just a weather pattern. It is not you. It is not permanent. And you do not have to navigate it alone.

Right now, your brain’s alarm system is screaming. The logical part of your brain has been taken offline. That is a normal, brilliant, biological survival response. But you and I are going to bring it back online, together.

We are going to do one, simple, physical thing. This is not a bulls*hit mindfulness exercise. This is a direct, manual override for your nervous system.

Place your hand on your chest.

Can you feel that? The rise and fall. The rhythm. That is the anchor. That is the proof that you are here, in this moment, and you are alive.

Keep your hand there.

Now, we are going to make one choice. The storm is telling you there are a million overwhelming things you have to do. That is a lie. There are only three choices right now, and you only need to pick one.

If you or someone else is in immediate, physical danger and you need help on site, right now:

This is the button you push when you need the paramedics or the police to show up. This is the “bring the fire truck” button.

If you are having thoughts of suicide and you need to talk or text with a human, right now:

This is the national, 24/7 lifeline. It is free, it is confidential, and it is staffed by trained counselors who are ready to listen without judgment. This is the “I need a lifeline” button.

If you are in St. Louis, you are not in crisis but you are in deep distress and need to talk to someone local:

Behavioral Health Response (BHR) is our community’s lifeline. They provide free, confidential telephone counseling and can connect you with local resources. This is the “I need a local guide” button.