Dr. Barrenger’s work focuses on the intersection of mental illness and other social problems (criminal justice involvement, substance use, homelessness, & poverty). She has examined the production of risk for recidivism among men with mental illnesses leaving prison. She is interested in implementation research that considers the community or structural factors that can impact the effectiveness of empirically supported treatments in high-risk environments. Her current research explores pathways to recovery and desistance from crime for peer specialists with criminal justice histories and the prison health care experiences of those with mental illnesses who were formerly incarcerated.