The purpose of this article is to highlight the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic amid a preexisting loneliness epidemic, as well as argue in favor of the reconceptualization of social distancing as physical distancing. As public health measures require us to take up possibly isolating practices in order to reduce and eliminate the spread of the virus, it is important to develop or take up new forms of prosocial yet physically distant dynamics in order to address the negative psychological impact of these measures. The negative consequences of public health interventions might increase feelings loneliness and isolation experienced within Western industrialized societies. For this reason, teletherapy serves as temporary (and limited) intervention that could ameliorate the psychological effects of isolation. It could also serve as a space for the development of critical consciousness, as people reflect on the sociopolitical and economic impacts these measures have on them, and how they wish to address them. Nevertheless, we also offer an ethical cautionary tale to the application of teletherapy beyond the current emergency pandemic of the COVID-19.

中文翻译：

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重新定义社交距离：COVID-19 和孤独大流行期间的远程治疗和社会不平等

本文的目的是强调 COVID-19 大流行在先前存在的孤独流行中的影响，并主张将社会疏远重新定义为身体疏远。由于公共卫生措施要求我们采取可能的隔离措施以减少和消除病毒的传播，因此重要的是发展或采取新形式的亲社会但身体上远离的动态，以解决这些措施的负面心理影响措施。公共卫生干预的负面后果可能会增加西方工业化社会所经历的孤独感和孤立感。出于这个原因，远程治疗可作为临时（和有限）干预，可以改善孤立的心理影响。它还可以作为培养批判意识的空间，因为人们会反思这些措施对他们的社会政治和经济影响，以及他们希望如何解决这些影响。尽管如此，我们还为在当前 COVID-19 紧急大流行之外应用远程治疗提供了一个道德警示。