Speaking, reading aloud, being read to gives patients the opportunity to hear the words, as well as say/write them. Hearing the words gives a different sense of reality, it is a different sort of experiencing of the reality behind the words. It can be therapeutic.

Consider why a patient would write to begin with, rather than speak. Why is it harder to speak? One reason is that hearing the words while also saying them is harder than putting those words down on paper. Your T is offering you the therapeutic challenge of hearing the words that you have already put down on paper.